Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier Helles

Brewed by Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg
Style: Doppelbock
Vorchdorf, Austria

Honeycomb aroma with alcohol heat like a barleywine, light clear amber. Incredibly complex: pine, honey, orange syrup, sunshine and happiness. Thickest Helles I have ever met, more approachable and with more distinct flavors than the more popular cousin.

bottle, light golden color, still head, aroma has a lot of honey, melon and apple notes, flavor is cooked apple, more melon and fruity floral finish

At one point in time, Samichlaus was the strongest beer ever brewed. That is not the instance now with the Samuel Adams Utopias, but the beer is still a classic in its own right.

Deeply brilliant ambers, garnets, blood-oranges, and rustic coppers fill my glass to full while a soft copper-tinged head fades quickly in the face of a potent nose. Tempting fate, I swirl my glass and receive a life-affirming slap in the face. No lace, but this richly thick beer leaves tears beautiful enough to rival the finest single-malt. Rich. Spiced. Sipping rum and alcohol warmth is immediately evident along with rum soaked wood, maple glazed apples and pears sliced and warm from their braising in honey. Cinnamon sticks sprinkle and black plums snap as I bite into their crisp acidic skins, juices running down my chin. Pineapple teases from the background while more warm spices and wood hit the back of my nose. Rich, heavy, sweet, spiced, and decadent in all the best ways possible, her differences are subtle and refined. My first quaff coats all porous surfaces in sweet warm love-making. Cooked oranges, apples, and pears glazed in warm maple and honey are sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg while plums and white raisins beckon. The finish is dry, spiced, and oozing rummy wood. Licking my lips, honey and maple greet me once more while sweet rolls give her body some meat to wrap my tastebuds around. A definite sipper, the warmer she gets the more she opens herself up to me. Every aspect of her palate melts into a toe-curling orgasmic climax that lingers long after my Samichlaus Helles is gone. I literally licked my lips after each quaff; a resounding smack of satisfaction. My body is warm, my heart smitten, my soul soothed, and I owe it all to her sweet, spiced, dry, woody palate soaked in maple and honey with glazed apples, pears, oranges, plums, and white raisins. A beer lover’s delight.

Just like her older brother, I have multiple bottles of the 2007 Samichlaus Helles aging for future supping. I think I shall give her a good five years or so before I crack open another bottle of this particular vintage. Seeing as August is fast approaching, the 2008 batch of Samichlaus should be available very soon. I’ll be sure to grab a 4pack of both.

Bottle. Pours orange amber with almost no head. Only bubbles meandering on the surface. The aroma to me is grassy and grainy, almost like an imperial pilsner in a sense, and slightly boozy. The sugary sweetness took a bit to come out in the aroma. The taste is very similar to regular Samichlaus, but, as mentioned before, there’s a pilsner like quality in there. Malty, sweet and sugary notes, with light fruit, soft grains, booze and grass/hay. Body is medium but slick with a nice warming feel to it. Ends with more grains and grass, sugary malts, alcohol and fruit notes. Even a touch of honey, or even fermented honey, in spots. As I love regular Samichlaus, indeed I love this one, just not as much. Some age on this will be interesting.

Nice pale golden looking. Sweet alcohol nose. Very full body with a candied apple sweet taste. clean finish. For a doppelbock it lacks the maltiness I would expect. Makes me think more of a eisbock.

Deep gold, almost amber, with a quarter-inch white head. Sweet, fruity malt aroma and a rich, fruity malt taste. Big alcohol presence. Almost a barleywine character. Very, very nice.

Bottle, 14%. Quite peppery aroma, some sweet dried fruit and dust. Hazy dark golden colour. Almost no head. The flavour starts off quite alcoholic, getting a bit rough. Then follow some of the same fruit notes as were in the aroma. Good maltiness and quite sweet. Ending with a warming but rough alcohol burn. Slightly thick mouthfeel.

Pours a rich golden body with a big foamy head.. which unfortunately doesn’t want to hang around for long. Very sweet aroma (of course), pale malts with apples and cherries, cut by a whiff of alcohol. Same sweet flavor with a touch of citric bitterness and a soothing alcohol hit. It finishes sweet and sticky with a low alcohol burn. Now This is a Doppelbock!

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